If your day-to-day media diet includes anything related to true crime, you’ve probably heard of the Karen Read trial.
Read was charged with killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, who died in 2022, but she has maintained her innocence. The prosecution argued that Read intentionally hit O’Keefe with her car and killed him after a night of drinking. The defense argued that Read was being set up by the police, potentially in order to cover up their own misdeeds. Meanwhile, the case attracted massive amounts of attention on social media, particularly on TikTok, and eventually got its own docuseries on Max, which followed Read’s trial in real time.
The first trial ended in a mistrial, and now, a year later, Read is being retried.
It’s a long, confusing story that tends to generate strong emotions and opinions from both those directly connected to the case and those just watching from afar.
To make things a little bit easier to understand, here is a timeline of everything we know about the Karen Read trial, starting with most recent events.
June 18, 2025: Karen Read is acquitted of second-degree murder, CNN reports. She was found guilty of driving while under the influence.
“I could not be standing here without these amazing supporters who have supported me and my team financially and more importantly emotionally for almost four years,” she said after the verdict was read, per the outlet. “No one has fought harder for justice for John O’Keefe than I have.” Read was also photographed outside of the Massachusetts court house flashing the American Sign Language symbol for “I love you” to her supporters.
April 21, 2025: A jury is selected for Read’s retrial, per NBC News.
March 19, 2025: Lead investigator Michael Proctor is dishonorably discharged. Per NBC, the State Police Trial Board found Proctor guilty on three counts of unsatisfactory performance and one count of drinking alcohol while on duty. The internal investigation into Proctor began after it was revealed that he’d sent inappropriate and derogatory text messages about Read while investigating O’Keefe’s death.
July 1, 2024: A mistrial is declared, per People, after a jury failed to come to a verdict. Per NBC News, the Norfolk County district attorney appointed Hank Brennan to lead the prosecution for the retrial. Meanwhile, Read’s attorneys argued to have the case dismissed but were denied.
April 2024: Read’s trial goes viral on social media, especially on TikTok. True crime obsessives watched the proceedings in real time, providing synopses and commentary to their followers.
April 16, 2024: Read’s first trial begins. During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Read intentionally hit O’Keefe with her car and killed him. Their evidence included pieces of broken taillight found at the scene, as well as O’Keefe’s DNA on the taillight. They also presented evidence that Read and O’Keefe had been going through a difficult period in their relationship, including several angry texts and voicemails, per Boston 25 News.